Mentor-on-the-Lake Police Detective David Strauss is tied at three for the most in-house Officer of the Year awards, but this year's presentation came under decidedly different circumstances.

Chief John Gielink likens the town of little more than 1.5 square miles and its criminal activity to what you might find in TV's Mayberry. So when bartender Annie McSween was found murdered Nov. 26, 2010, it plunged the police into largely unchartered waters.

Not since 1979 had the city seen a homicide case, and it was Strauss' first.

As lead investigator, he was immersed in it from the moment officers were called to the gruesome scene on Andrews Road after the report of a female body.

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The majority of Strauss' time during 2011 was spent collecting evidence and DNA, conducting hundreds of interviews of associates of the business where the body was discovered as well as friends and acquaintances of McSween, and seemingly endless documentation. It was especially challenging because no obvious suspects emerged initially.

The case concluded last month, when Joseph Thomas was sentenced to death for the crime.

"Few detectives in Lake County have participated this actively in a death penalty case," Gielink said.

The big break came when the victim's clothing was found in a burn barrel at a Marine Parkway home Thomas had shared with several other people. Two of them had contacted police months earlier after hearing the suspect's description, but they were unaware of the clothing in the barrel.

Her body was discovered in her garage, coincidentally also on Marine Parkway, after police were called to investigate a suspicious odor.

"When I was standing in the Stroud yard, the people involved in the Thomas case waved to me," Strauss said.

The Stroud case also required many long hours of investigation and interviews, ultimately resulting in the conviction of Stroud's husband, Gary, previously a Mentor police officer and Lake County Sheriff's deputy.

Strauss knew the Strouds well, particularly Gary, with whom he had served as Mentor Municipal Court officer.

"Gary kept saying he was going to tell me" what happened, Strauss said. "I had to stop him, because he had to talk to his lawyer first. ... You don't want to lose a case because of it."

In court, Stroud said he still loves his wife and was recovering from a head injury because of a stroke.

Also in 2011, Strauss investigated an armed robbery at Papa Smokes, leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect.

He represented the department at the annual Giant Eagle Safety Fair and participated in a large-scale round-up of meth dealers and distributors throughout the Madison-Geneva area, resulting 57 arrests in a single day.

So how does he deal with the job stress and vivid memories of violent crime scenes?

"You just kind of deal with it every day," he said. "You try to forget about a lot of things."

The 44-year-old also indulges in motorsports, from dirt bikes to jet skis.

After 20 years with the department -- 25 total in law enforcement -- he said he still enjoys the job.

"You thought you saw everything and then something different happens, every day," he said.

The department has eight full-time officers and 22 part-timers.

All are eligible for the Officer of the Year award, which has been given out since 1995.

"Detective Strauss continues to maintain a professional attitude no matter what assignment he is given," Gielink said.